An Internet forum is a facility on the World Wide Web for holding discussions, or the web application software used to provide the facility. Web-based forums, which date from around 1995, perform a similar function as the dial-up bulletin boards and Internet newsgroups that were numerous in the 1980s and 1990s. A sense of virtual community often develops around forums that have regular users. Technology, computer games, and politics are popular areas for forum themes, but there are forums for a huge number of different topics .

Internet forums are also commonly referred to as web forums, message boards, discussion boards, discussion forums, discussion groups, bulletin boards (but see also dial-up bulletin boards), fora (the proper Latin plural) or simply forums.

Culture

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Internet forums are prevalent in several developed countries. In terms of countable posts, Japan is far in the lead with over two million posts per day on their largest forum, 2channel. The United States does not have any one large forum, but instead several hundred thousand smaller forums, the largest of which are GameFAQs, Gaia Online, and IGN. Other countries such as China, the Netherlands, and France are also home to hundreds of independent forums. Some countries such as Finland and Sweden do not have many prevalent forums despite having open and easily available Internet access. As of yet no study has been done on the prevalence of forums in countries around the world. It is also dubious as to whether any country has its own fora, as - especially in the English language - contributors to a forum often come from outside the country in which the forum is hosted. There is often not a 1-1 relationship between languages and countries: for example, English language fora are contributed to by people all over the world, whilst Japanese language fora are likely to be contributed to only by Japanese people, but Japanese people also contribute to English language fora, so there is no 1-1 relationship between Japanese language fora and Japanese people contributing to fora.

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FAA Flight-Plan System Has Long History of Problems
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:00:16 -0400
Investigations reveal that the 20-year-old, mainframe-based IT system has crashed several times in the last nine years and that the FAA has been planning its replacement for at least four years. But a new, next-generation IT system won't be on line until at least the end of 2008. Meanwhile, the old system creaks along on a wing and a prayer. - A major portion of the decades-old national air-traffic control system used to manage thousands of commercial and general aviation takeoffs and landings every day in the U.S. has crashed multiple times under the 20-year strain of its 24/7 operations. As a result, industry analysts and a numbe...
Toshiba Tecra A9: Powerful Computing Today and Tomorrow
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:15:57 -0400
Small companies in competitive fields need exceptionally secure and durable laptops that pack top-notch wireless connectivity and productivity tools. The Toshiba Tecra A9, with its built-in EasyGuard® security features, delivers these critical elements and lets companies maximize their technology investment. - Video Content....
Toshiba Satellite Pro L300: Meeting Small Businesses Needs
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:14:52 -0400
Small-business workers need computing solutions that boost productivity and support their multiple tasks seamlessly. To find out exactly what theyre looking for, we surveyed 172 professionals in companies with 10-99 employees. The results reveal a growing demand for business-ready laptops that can be used reliably for years at a time. The Toshiba Satellite Pro L300 delivers all the major productivity and reliability features highlighted in the survey, and provides several innovations that help small operations take their business to the next level. - Video Content....
Phishing Cyber Gang Upgrades to Fast-Flux Botnet
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:00:39 -0400
According to researchers on the RSA FraudAction team, the Rock Phish gang has moved its infrastructure to the notorious Asprox botnet. Security researchers believe the move may precede an increase in phishing activity using the Asprox botnet. - Researchers at RSA, EMCs security division, believe the Rock Phish gang has upgraded its infrastructure to improve its ability to launch phishing attacks. According to the RSA FraudAction Research Lab, the Rock Phish group has moved its operations from its traditional botnet to the fast-flux infra...
IT3 with Eric Lundquist, Sept. 3, 2008
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 14:51:40 -0400
Software in standalone boxes, passwords and a belt full of personal devices will disappear over the next five years. In this episode of Three Things, Eric Lundquist explains why you will no longer buy standalone software from retail stores, why passwords are a poor substitute for security and geeks will no longer be identified by lots of devices hanging from a belt. - Video Content....
Douglas Crockford: 'I Want a Browser War!'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:15:55 -0400
Douglas Crockford, a JavaScript architect at Yahoo and the man behind JSON, the JavaScript Object Notation, says he welcomes a browser war if it will bring innovation in the browser space and move the Web forward. Crockford says the browser war between Microsoft and Netscape moved the Web forward but introduced bugs into the network. However, this time standards and the marketplace will keep browser makers in line. Microsoft's complacency after winning the browser war opened the door for innovation by others such as Mozilla and now Google with its Chrome browser. - VIENNA, Va. Douglas Crockford, a JavaScript architect at Yahoo and founder of the JavaScript Object Notation, says he wants a browser war. Well, with Google's introduction of its Chrome browser Sept. 2 he just may have it. During a keynote at the Rich Web Experience conference here Sept. 4, Croc...

NYT > Technology

Digital Domain: How Many Reviewers Should Be in the Kitchen?
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:25:08 -0000
Web sites that welcome customer reviews have evolved significantly, producing work that increasingly approaches that of their professional forebears.
Unboxed: When Academia Puts Profit Ahead of Wonder
Sun, 07 Sep 2008 04:24:23 -0000
The University Small Business Patent Procedures Act is under increasing scrutiny by swelling ranks of critics, who charge that it has distorted the fundamental mission of universities.
Practical Traveler | iPhone E-Guides: Clueless in Cleveland? Use Your Thumb
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 19:36:35 -0000
From showing you the nearest sushi bar in London to telling you how to say “Where’s the toilet?” in Cantonese, travel apps for the iPhone are proving to be a useful tool.

CNN.com - Technology

CIA, FBI embrace 'Facebook for spies'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:08:59 -0400
When you see people at the office using such Internet sites as Facebook, you might suspect those workers are slacking off. But that's not the case at U.S. intelligence agencies, where bosses are encouraging their staffs to use a new social-networking site designed for the secret world of spying.
Asia pollution may boost U.S. temperatures
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:55:23 -0400
Read full story for latest details.
eBay launches planet-friendly retail site
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 10:01:58 -0400
Read full story for latest details.

NPR Topics: Technology

Particle Accelerator Helps Test Wine
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 10:53:00 -0400
Stephen Williams of the Antique Wine Company describes the new high-tech way to determine a wine's vintage.
Voting Technology Evolves In Electronic World
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0400
Officials in many states are concerned about the reliability of electronic voting and are now moving toward systems that can provide a voter-verified paper trail. Larry Norden, author of The Machinery of Democracy, discusses the latest advances in voting technology.
Google Launches 'Chrome' Web Browser
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 10:00:00 -0400
Internet search giant Google unveiled Chrome, a new piece of Web browser software on Tuesday. Danny Sullivan, editor-in-chief of SearchEngineLand.com, explains what Google's open-source browser can do, and why a search engine leader wants to get into the Web software market.

BBC News | Technology | UK Edition

One Laptop signs up with Amazon
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:23:44 -0000
Online retailer Amazon will help the One Laptop Per Child organisation with its plans to sell its XO laptop in the US.
Chaos at £20,000 petrol giveaway
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 12:17:46 -0000
There are reports of chaos at a petrol station which gave away £20,000 of petrol to promote a video game.
'Jules Verne' begins final voyage
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 22:27:47 -0000
Europe's space freighter undocks from the International Space Station after completing its mission to the orbiting platform.

Reuters Video: Technology

Reuters Technology Week
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 17:06:17 -0400
Sep. 5 - A highly anticipated videogame, Spore, lets you rewrite the Book of Genesis as you create your own sci-fi society.
Sims creator launches 'Spore'
Fri, 05 Sep 2008 13:14:44 -0400
Sep 5 - Video game designer Will Wright says his latest game will enable users to create the worlds while learning about evolutionary biology.
Sony Reader launches in UK
Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:59:51 -0400
Sep 4 - The Japanese electronics company is getting some help from Britain's biggest book chain for the UK launch of its electronic book.

AP Top Technology News At 1:23 a.m. EDT

Google reigns as world's most powerful 10-year-old
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE Sat, 06 Sep 2008 05:23:17 -0000
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) -- When Larry Page and Sergey Brin founded Google Inc. on Sept. 7, 1998, they had little more than their ingenuity, four computers and an investor's $100,000 bet on their belief that an Internet search engine could change the world....
Microsoft deploying in-store customer-service reps
By RACHEL METZ Fri, 05 Sep 2008 18:47:01 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- As part of its new $300 million marketing campaign and image makeover, Microsoft Corp. plans to deploy its own customer-service representatives at retailers like Best Buy and Circuit City to help people with their PC purchases....
Tech firms fare better than most in jobs slump
By BARBARA ORTUTAY Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:21:54 -0000
NEW YORK (AP) -- Technology appears to be one of the least hard-hit sectors in an economy beset by unemployment at a five-year high....

CNET News.com

Google-focused satellite enters orbit
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 19:33:22 -0700
The search titan has exclusive rights among online mapping sites to images from the new GeoEye-1 satellite, which launched Saturday.
In NFL deal, an extra point for Adobe's Flash
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 18:40:09 -0700
Football fans will get to see live streaming of NBC's Sunday night games via Flash--not NBC's Olympic teammate, Silverlight.
Chris Shipley 1, Internet lynch mob 0
Sat, 06 Sep 2008 17:51:00 -0700
Demo's impresario goes public with a tart and smartly written riposte to the shoot-from-the-lip crowd.

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